Set deep in a mythical forest populated by trees that turn into people and hold festive dances by night, the gorgeously illustrated book tells the story of the beautiful Liselle, an evil prince’s poor washer girl who meets and falls in love with the handsome Birch Prince. By sacrificing her own life, Liselle saves the Birch Prince and his friends from being chopped down by the evil prince—and ends up living on forever in a very surprising way.
“I think there’s something really lacking in the way many of us are bringing up our children today,” says Bryan, a father of four who grew up outside a town of 900 people in the Kootenay region of British Columbia. “Too many parents just let their kids sit inside in front of the computer all day, or they think their child is automatically going to be kidnapped because of something they saw on TV. When I was a kid I spent a lot of time in the woods, and it gave me great respect for nature and taught me so many other things. It’s an experience I believe all children should have—so I encourage my kids to go play in the mud.”
And between his work as a software developer and screenwriter, playing in nature is something the 36-year-old author has himself never stopped doing. In addition to enjoying camping, woodworking, and archery, Bryan also teaches woodland tracking to adults and children around his hometown of Calgary, Alberta. In 2004 he published The Enchanted Princesses (Corvid Media), a lighthearted story that outlines the creation of the natural world and centers on family love, courage, and perseverance. Called “a magical tale for all ages,” the book was extremely well received and continues to sell well online and in selected shops.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, before he releases them out and into the world Bryan road tests each of his stories on some very tough critics: his son and three daughters. “Adults have a tendency to put their ideas in neat, little boxes,” Bryan explains. “But sometimes kids will come up with something I wouldn’t have. I write all my stories first and foremost for my own children, and they’ve definitely helped to shape them.” Printed on FSC-certified, 100-percent recycled paper and graced with the beautiful pen-and-watercolor illustrations of artist Tanya Lam, Liselle and the Birch Prince has even inspired a song, “The Birch's Lament,” written and recorded by Bryan’s wife, musician Sora, for her album Heartwood (hear it at www.soramusic.ca).
A refreshingly inspiring fable in a world of one empty, hype-driven, computer-animated Hollywood blockbuster after another, Liselle and the Birch Prince is a poignant, socially conscious story that children will want their parents to read aloud to them again and again—and one they’ll want to read to their own children as well.